ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

• India and the United States of America (USA) have launched the “Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD)”. It will strengthen India-US bilateral cooperation on climate and environment.
• The dialogue was launched by Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Bhupender Yadav and Mr John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate (SPEC) in New Delhi.
• “Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue (CAFMD)” is one of the two tracks of the India-U.S. Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership launched at the Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021. The other track is Strategic Clean Energy Partnership.
  • CAFMD will demonstrate how the world can align swift climate action with inclusive and resilient economic development, taking into account national circumstances and sustainable development priorities

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

• A Hyderabad-based Space technology startup, Skyroot Aerospace has become the first private company to formally enter into an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• The Framework MoU will allow the company to undertake multiple tests and access facilities at various ISRO centres and avail the technical expertise of ISRO for testing and qualifying their space launch vehicle systems and subsystems.
• Skyroot, founded by former ISRO scientists, is building the Vikram series of rockets to carry small satellites into space.
• The startup has already test fired its solid propulsion rocket engine named Kalam-5, whose bigger version will power its rockets.
• Skyroot Aerospace is building the Vikram series of rockets to carry small satellites into space. The first launch vehicle in the series, Vikram-1 is scheduled to be launch in 2022.

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

• Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has been awarded the Africa Food Prize for 2021 for improving food security in sub-Saharan Africa.
• The Tropical Legumes Project developed 266 varieties of improved legumes and half a million tons of seeds for a range of legume crops, including cowpeas, pigeon peas, chickpea, common bean, groundnut, and soybean.
• The improved seeds benefitted over 25 million farmers in climate-resilient approaches and to control pest outbreaks across the region. ICRISAT is a non-profit, non-political public international research organisation that conducts agricultural research for development in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa with a wide array of partners throughout the world.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• India’s Raja Randhir Singh has taken over as acting president of the Olympic Council of Asia as Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah appeals a guilty verdict in a Swiss forgery trial. A five-time Olympic shooter and an Asian Games gold medallist in 1978, Singh was promoted to the role from his position as an honorary life vice president.
• During the interim period, Raja Randhir Singh will carry out the duties and responsibilities of the OCA President, starting with the OCA Executive Board Meeting scheduled to be held on 13th September 2021.”
• Singh had been part of OCA as secretary-general for 24 years since 1991 and is the longest-serving executive board member. He is also an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Reserve Bank of India has announced the theme for the Third Cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox (RS) as ‘MSME Lending’. The application for the Third Cohort will be kept open from October 01, 2021 to November 14, 2021.
• Regulatory Sandbox (RS) refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled/test regulatory environment for which regulators may (or may not) permit certain regulatory relaxations for the limited purpose of the testing.
• First Cohort: First Cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox was launched by RBI in December 2020, with the theme as ‘Retail Payments’. Six entities have completed the testing phase of the cohort.
• Second Cohort: Second Cohort under the Regulatory Sandbox was announced by RBI in December 2020 with the theme as ‘Cross Border Payments’. Eight entities have been selected for the ‘Test Phase’.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Government of India has proposed to institutionalise the India-Africa Defence Dialogue, as a regular event, to be held on the sidelines of the biennial DefExpo military exhibition. The first India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave (IADMC) was held at DefExpo in February 2020 in Lucknow.
• Following this, second India – Africa Defence Dialogue will be held on the sidelines of the DefExpo, scheduled to be held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat in March 2022. The theme of the 2nd India Africa Defence Dialogue will be ‘India – Africa: Adopting Strategy for Synergizing and Strengthening Defence and Security Cooperation.
• Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh will host the Defence Ministers of African Nations at the upcoming India – Africa Defence Dialogue.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• Mathematician Anand Kumar was conferred with the Swami Brahmanand Award 2021 for his contribution in the field of education through his ‘Super 30’ initiative, which prepares underprivileged students for the IIT entrance exam.
• He received the award from Professor Roop Kishore Shastri, the vice-chancellor of Haridwar’s Gurukula Kangri deemed university, at a function in the Rath area of Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Super 30′ is a coaching programme of Kumar’s Patna-based Ramanujan School of Mathematics.
• It hunts for 30 meritorious students from among economically backward sections of the society and shapes them to clear the test to get into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT).
• It has been instituted in the name of Swami Brahmananda, a freedom fighter, former MP and a saint known for his sacrifices and his contribution in the field of education.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), run by the education ministry, has bagged global recognition from UNESCO for its innovative approach towards education.
• The recognition is for educating differently-abled people through technology-enabled inclusive learning material. The NIOS move has a specific focus on Indian sign language-based content.
• By awarding NIOS the King Sejong Literacy Prize, the jury has recognized the value of providing for the unique educational and language needs of PwD learners by developing teaching content in sign language through digital mode.
• The award-winning programme focuses on the use of digital tools and local language to help persons with disabilities the option to access Indian Sign Language (ISL)-based content.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Florence Nightingale Award will be given to a nurse, Bhanumati Gheewala, from Sir Sayajirao General Hospital, Gujarat. She has been in charge of COVID-19 positive pregnant women’s deliveries as well as infant care.
• She worked in the gynaecology department as well in the paediatric ward. In 2019, when the wards of the hospital were waterlogged due to flood. She carried her duty in the gynaecology department and the pediatric ward.
• The Florence Nightingale Award is given by the Indian Nursing Council. This is a statutory agency under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to recognise the contributions of healthcare workers